Periscope

58 percent of the respondents were unable to identify correctly the painter of Starry Night was Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh

Varsity survey:

Local youth: Little passion for art

By Peggy Chan

Hong Kong youngsters generally lack motivation towards art. Many of them simply do not have interest in ballet, paintings or classical music concerts.

Varsity survey has interviewed 316 local universities students on some basic knowledge of art, as well as their perception and participation in classical art.

Professor Mok Kar Leung, of the Department of Fine Arts at The Chinese University of Hong Kong , was disappointed by the results. He commented that Hong Kong university students rarely showed appreciation for art.

Among all the respondents, 82 percent of them correctly named the painter of the Mona Lisa was Leonardo Da Vinci.

Nevertheless, there were respectively 58 and 74 percent of respondents were unable to identify correctly the painter of Starry Night as Van Gogh, and the musical composer of the Phantom of the Opera as Andrew Llyord Webber.

Prof. Mok said, “They usually enjoy entertaining art, like commercial films. They often have the misconception that art is abstract.”

Due to this common misconception, art seems to be unapproachable to many young people.

Tom Pang, a year 1 student of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hong Kong , said he does not know how to appreciate art.

“I do not understand the implication behind the artwork,” said Mr. Pang.

As reflected by the survey, 67 percent of the total interviewees had visited the Hong Kong Museum of Art or galleries. Yet Prof. Mok thinks that the percentage is far from satisfactory. Prof. Mok said, “There is still nearly one-third of the students who have never been to the museum or galleries.

“What the youth lack is not money but the intention to participate. Afterall, the admission fee of the Hong Kong Museum of Art is only ten dollars.”

The survey shows that 48 percent of the respondents consider art as only moderately important in their lives. Only 9 percent of them consider art as strongly important. Some of them even thought that art was indeed unnecessary.

Prof. Mok worries about such a phenomenon.

“A healthy society should be rich not only in the economy, but also in aesthetics. However, the present education is insufficient to arouse an interest in art among youth,” said he.

Chan Yuk Keung, Associate Professor of the Fine Arts Department at The Chinese University, considers that strong materialism in society overrides the appreciation and enthusiasm towards artwork among young people.

Yet, he thinks art education can cultivate a stronger interest among youth towards art.

There are 43 percent of the respondents go to art exhibitions because of the collection exhibited. Another 16 percent pay visit to these exhibitons through school activities, which is the second highest percentage.

“The appreciation of art is actually a connection between the reality and our spirit. If a person enjoys understanding art, he would appreciate it,” he said.

Prof. Chan suggested that both the artists and the media can play a part in arousing the interest among the youth. art should be demystified while the artists should open up themselves more to the public.

“The artists should be more concerned on local issues in their artwork. On the other hand, the media can produce more cultural programs, instead of the present entertaining and gossipy ones,” said Professor Chan.

On the other hand, Prof. Mok advised the university to provide more opportunities for students to experience art on campus. They should provide courses with little workload in order to create a relaxed and attractive ambience for learning art.

“Nowadays, art is a means to express one's feelings,” he said.

Perhaps that is why there are 16 percent of the interviewed university students regard graffiti as art.

Prof. Mok also thinks that graffiti is a form of art. “This is their way to express themselves. Actually, there is no precise measurement of art,” he said.

However, Calvin Lau, a Fine Arts freshman at the Chinese University of Hong Kong , disagreed with Prof. Mok.

“The motive can sometimes be destructive. They may not even realize their own identities at all,” said Mr. Lau.

Prof. Mok said that it was normal to have different views on graffiti. The meaning of art could vary among people with different social and cultural backgrounds.

The students may not be able to understand in all dimensions what exactly is art, and how does it relates to their daily lives. Yet, they believe that the government certainly can do more to popularize art among them.

Almost 80 percent of the respondents thought that the government offered inadequate support for local art development. Some of them suggested that lack of fund and opportunity for local artists are major problems. They also suggest the government to revise art education in primary and secondary schools.

Art without limit

By David Peter Hanson

Art should not be confined to an art studio or museum. “Art and creative elements can be incorporated into daily life,” said Chan Yuk Keung, Associate Professor of the Fine Art Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong .

Public art can be seen as a realization of Prof. Chan's comment above. It is simply artwork presented in the public space, where one could walk by any day.

Connie Yu, a businesswoman, appreciates the idea of public art. “I like the idea of bringing art to the people rather than the people to art.”

However, the idea of public art is not very well developed in Hong Kong . A walk through Central only presents one with a limited number of public art pieces. Most of them seem to be more for the purpose of decoration than presenting art to the public. Also, people do not pay much attention to them.

Alex Chan, a 34-year-old Hong Kong artist, said, “Public art is a great way to express yourself as an artist, to give something to people who don't normal go to the museums, and try give them a break from their daily life. It is just a shame that it's not so common in Hong Kong .”